Improvement in horse-halters



UNirED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

PHILIP REED, OF N ORRISTOWN PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN HORSE-HALTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 153,911, dated August 11, 1874; application filed April 28,1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PHILIP REED, of Norristown, in the county of Montgomery and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a Horse- Halter with Detachable Hitching-Strap, of which the following is a specification:

The object of my inventionis to afiord a halter and hitching-strap combined together in such a manner that both parts together will constitute a strong and reliable halter for securing horses, mules, &c., in their stalls, and also permit of a ready separation from the nose and cheek straps of the hitching portion of the said halter when the same is required to be used on harnessed horses or mules, simply for. securely hitching the animal at temporary stopping places in traveling, and thus avoiding the cumbersome and unsightly result which would accompany the use of the halter as a hitching-strap.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the combined halter and hitching-strap. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the hitching-strap detached.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, A is the crown-piece; B B, the cheek-pieces; G G, the throat-pieces; D, the nose-piece; E, the chin-piece; and F, the tie-strap. The crownpiece A has one of its ends permanently attached to the upper end of one of the throatpieces, 0, by means of a ring, 1, and its opposite end attached to the upper end of the other throat-piece, C, by means of a snaphook, which catches in the ring 2. The lower ends of the two throat-pieces, O (l, are each looped into connection with one ring, 3, by means of respective buckles g 9, whereby the lengths of the respective throat-pieces can also be adjusted in the usual manner. The tie-strap F is also permanently looped to said ring 3. The upper ends of the cheek-pieces B B are attached to the respective rings 1 2 of the throat-pieces O O by means of re spective snap-hooks, 4: 4, and their lower ends, respectively, attached permanently to the ends of the nose-piece D by means of the rings 5 5; and the chin-piece E has its two ends attached, respectively, to the said rings 5 5 by means of snap-hooks 6 6,'while the middle portion of the said chin-piece E slides freely through an opening formed between the tie-strap and a lapping piece sewed, fast to the said strap at f.

The parts above referred to, and connected together as described, constitute the combined halter and hitching-strap, as shown in Fig. 1, for securing the animal in his stall.

The hitching-strap, shown in Fig. 2, is produced by detaching the two cheek-pieces, B B, from the rings 1 nose-piece D, from the chin-piece E, the attachments being made by the snap-hooks 4 4 and 6 6, respectively, which afford ready facility for either attaching or detaching the said parts. i

In applying the hitching-strap, detached as described and shown in Fig. 2, the operator slips the loop, formed by the connected parts A and O 0, over the neck of the animal, and

then connects the snap-hooks 6 6 with the two usual bit-rings of the bridle, respectively, thus leaving the long tie-strap F free to be tied fast to a hitching-post. With this hitchingstrap, applied as described, the animal will be securely held to the post. If he pulll backward on the tie-strap he will be held by his neck, and if he press forward 'he will be held by the bridle-bit. The said hitching-strap, Fig. 2, can be quickly detached from the cheekpieces and nose'piece of the halter, Fig. l, and applied over the bridle on the animal, and attached to the bit thereof, as described, and as easily and quickly reattached to the cheek-pieces and the nose-piece, so as to produce the halter, Fig. 1, on the animal after removing the bridle.

The snap-hooks are of the ordinary construction, having a spring-lever, 7, which auto; matically closes the opening of the hook, and is opened by pressing upon the opposite end of the said lever. The additional cost of the .five snap-hooks is more than compensated by the fact that the halter is convertible into a hitching-strap at the pleasure of the operator.

I claim as my invention- A horse-halter, consisting of cheek-pieces and nose-band, in combination with a detachable hitchiug-strap, which forms the crown, throat-latch, and other necessary pieces, substantially as described.

PHILIP REED.

Witnesses BENJ. MORISON, WM. H. MORISON.

and 2, together with the E 

